BUSINESS

A research analyst with Macquarie Equities Research says he believes that Australian banking major National Australia Bank will be the first lender to raise its rates after the election.According to The Australian, banks will likely raise their interest rates prior to the Federal election, but accor...

The first day of the new trading week saw stocks finishing slightly higher with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) rising by 0.3pct or 15pts to 4429.5.

The Australia 200 CFD Index was 0.3% higher at 4409, with energy and material names all outperforming.

Australian stocks ended firmer on Monday, overcoming a weak start to finish marginally higher on a quiet day when market players stayed mostly on the sidelines.

Morgan Stanley has foreseen that Australia's four largest bank institutions are about to flood the market with bond sales as they seek to refinance notes and fund lending initiatives, which in turn will push costs for the most indebted.

Mining industry service contractor WDS Ltd said on Monday that it has secured a two-year contract from BHP Billiton to carry out the resource giant’s longwall block management and outbye services of its Illawarra Coal’s Dendrobium mine site in New South Wales.

India's biggest coal importer, the Adani Group, was picked to develop an export fuel facility in Australia, reports said.

The first day of the week has not been well for the Australian currency because it traded lower from its three-week high. The Australian dollar and NZ currency faltered as speculations of economic recovery again spooked the market.

Australian mining firm Grange Resources Ltd said on Monday that it has sealed a considerable pricing agreement with BlueScope Steel Ltd for its magnetite iron ore pellets from the company’s Tasmanian mining site and deliverable within the September quarter.

The Australian share market opened lower this morning but moved into positive territory on thin volumes.

Across Asia, regional markets are all higher on the back of improving sentiment on Wall St and news of the weekend that China's exports grew 44% on year in June.

Asian stocks rose, led by Japanese exporters and commodity producers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent at 116.46 as of 1:03 p.m. in Tokyo, extending a two-day, 2.6 percent rally.

Canadian mining firm Ivanhoe Australia Ltd announced on Monday that the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has granted its application to takeover the Osborne copper and gold exploration project in Queensland from Barrick Gold Corporation, currently the world’s biggest gold explorer.

The ARA (Australian Retailers Association) has given out a warning to retailers to speed up the new award salary payments, as the Fair Work Ombudsman starts its rounds on randomly picked stores across Australia.

Australian pharmaceutical firm, Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd., that has lost more than half its market value this year, said it is willing to work a better deal with Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. to have a better offer.

Resource company North Queensland Metals Ltd (NQM) said today that it is rejecting the takeover proposal of Conquest Mining Ltd, citing that its joint venture partner at the Pajingo gold mine site in Queensland, Heemskirk Consolidated Ltd offered a much superior bid.

Remarkably high interest rates on savings accounts could end thanks to the Reserve Bank of Australia's ruling to put the cash rate on hold for the second straight month, an analyst has warned.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 was little changed at 4,396.40 as of 10:41 a.m. in Sydney. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index was little changed at 3,005.38 in Wellington.

Upcoming mining company IMX Resources Ltd reported on Monday that the Australian government has given its go signal for China’s Sichuan Taifeng to increase its stake on the Perth-based company and invest as well to its South Australian iron ore, copper and gold exploration projects.

Australia-based investment company Mirrabooka has posted a 31 per cent increase in full-year net profit, and announced a share purchase plan saying equity valuations had gone back to attractive buying levels.

Macquarie Bank has announced the release of a new mortgage-based plan intended for borrowers that plan to make use of mortgage as a part of wealth development strategy.

Australia's housing finance commitments have marked their first increase in eight months, showing a renascent housing market amid higher rates and falling confidence.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued warnings on Monday that thousands of ordinary investors could be burned by the high-risk investments contracts for difference (CFDs) as it reported that industry players are deliberately downplaying the risks entailed in betting to the investment products.

Australia’s surfing RTW retailer, Billabong has announced plans of acquiring a California-based “progressive” clothing label, RVCA, for an amount yet to be disclosed.

The auction clearance rate in Sydney nosedived at the weekend with just 49 per cent of properties selling, the poorest record in 18 months.

Sigma Pharmaceuticals said on Monday that it has been offered to closely coordinate with US drug manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare in order to fetch a much promising bid for the company, though it confirmed that Aspen’s exclusivity period has lapsed and no extensions have been made so far.

Australia's second-largest airline Virgin Blue has postponed its relaunch until early next year as it seeks to resolve a long-running dispute with largest shareholder, Richard Branson, over its plans to own the Virgin name.

The worst is over for Europe if officials of the European Central Bank (ECB) are to be believed, no further recessions would be seen in the eurozone and the region’s economies should have been tinkering its way to recovery by now.

Credit Suisse has joined UBS in covering iron ore play Gindalbie Metals, both brokers rating the stock as a Buy given valuation upside and leverage to iron ore prices.